How Do I Understand My Report URL?
Example URL: https://lab.aiq.com/public/emailReports/1005-1005-2022-07-31-2022-08-30-rd.csv
URL meaning: https://lab.aiq.com/public/emailReports/[Account ID]-[Account ID]-[Date Range Start]-[Date Range End]-[Report Type]
What Are Merges?
How Do They Occur?
The Default AIQ Merge logic merges AIQ Personas that have the same phone number OR the same email on both AIQ Personas.
Why Do They Occur?
Merges occur due to AIQ receiving multiple records of the same shopper persona. Multiple AIQ Personas can result from multiple profiles being derived from various integrations (POS vs E-Comm, etc.) in addition to duplicate personas being created from the same integration (multiple POS profiles, etc.).
Why Are Merges Important?
AIQ's original goal was to act as the source of truth by providing meaningful data acquired from multiple tech platforms. In order for this data to be meaningful, it must be de-duplicated — your data must be clean and not redundant. This is accomplished via AIQ's merges so you know you are looking at meaningful and valuable data.
Merges also play an important role in loyalty programs: merges will change a Persona's loyalty status, allow that shopper to become a loyalty member and accrue points, and make sure every loyalty shopper is receiving ALL of their points, even if some points were accrued on another POS shopper profile.
How Do Merges Impact Reporting?
Negative point balances
Changes in point balances
Changes in data allocation (favorite store associated with points activity)
De-duplication of contact records can cause shifts in store-by-store liability — if a shopper's favorite store changes, the liability can be shifted to the new store
What Are "Bad" Merges?
Bad merges are defined as AIQ merges that occurred for two unrelated or individual Personas — a merge in shopper personas that should not have occurred.
How Do "Bad" Merges Occur?
Under AIQ default merging logic, bad merges occur due to a phone number or email being associated with more than one individual account. Common causes include:
Staff entering dummy contact information: Instead of entering correct contact info (or to satisfy a shopper who doesn't want to provide it), staff enter a filler "dummy email" or "dummy phone number" used across multiple shopper profiles. Even though these shoppers are unique and unrelated, they will all be merged together as they share the same email or phone number. This can negatively impact shopper experience, point balances, and loyalty access. Entering dummy information is strongly discouraged.
Couples sharing the same contact info: Couples should be discouraged from using the same (home) phone number or email for their individual loyalty accounts unless they would like to share one account.
Can I Change My Merge Logic?
Under the Advanced section of Loyalty Settings, you can change the merge logic so that merges only occur if the [first + last name] match and [date of birth] match — making merges independent of phone numbers or emails collected.
Please reach out to your CSM to discuss important edge cases before changing merge logic:
Promotes inaccurate data collection: With less motivation to collect accurate phones and emails, it is likely that messy or inaccurate data will be collected at a higher prevalence, impacting marketing opt-ins and communications.
It is possible (while unlikely) for someone to have the same first + last name and birthdate as another Persona, which could result in an incorrect merge despite following the implemented merging logic.
For All Reports Prior to February 2023
Why Could There Have Been a Discrepancy Between the Ending Balance of One Month and the Starting Balance of the Next?
Prior to February 2023, Audience Points Reports and Monthly Financial Vault Reports used the following logic to determine the starting balance:
With dynamic data sources like those in AIQ accounts, the number of loyalty shoppers (loyalty opt ins / opt outs) changes over time and throughout a reporting period. These changes could occur due to merges (most common), changes in CRM (file imports, new integrations), etc.
The starting balance was calculated by taking a snapshot at the end of the month (EOM) for the reporting time frame, based on the personas within the loyalty shopper base at that time. The ending balance was then determined from that persona count, and the starting balance was reverse-engineered by applying expiration logic in reverse. However, merges and CRM changes impact the persona count over the course of a reporting period, so the ending persona count of one month may not produce a consistent starting balance for the next — this is expected in a dynamic CRM like AIQ.
The logic was changed on Per Store Monthly Financial Vault Reports to eliminate confusion: the starting balance for one month is now determined by the ending balance of the previous month, since the ending balance accounts for points at 24:00 EOM and the starting balance accounts for points at 00:00 BOM the next month.
Need Help?
If you need assistance, reach out to AIQ Support anytime via chat widget within your AIQ Dashboard.